Waste and refuse disintegrating mill

ABSTRACT

A mill having means for continuously removing nondisintegratable metallic refuse comprising an entrance opening at the top thereof, a foraminous bottom discharge portion, rotatable hammerlike tools, and cooperating stationary disintegrating teeth having upper surfaces. A discharge opening for nondisintegratable material is located adjacent the upper surfaces of the teeth to receive the nondisintegratable material the disintegrating tools push along the upper surfaces of the teeth. The upper surfaces of the teeth are tangent to a circle concentric with the axis of rotation of the hammerlike tools. A discharge opening for partially comminuted material is located adjacent the trailing end of the foraminous cage in the direction of rotation of the hammerlike tools.

of said rotors, said distributor having blades thereon, a discshaped impeller provided at the opposite end thereof, and an end cover attached at one end of said casing having in its center material-feeding inlet, said inlet opening into said distributor at said shaft, and another end cover attached to the opposite end of said casing the improvement comprising a whirl chamber provided adjacent the material feeding inlet formed in the center of said end cover at said one end of said casing wherein material supplied from sad inlet is given a prewhirl movement before reaching said distributor.

3. A pulverizer comprising:

a cylindrical casing having an inlet port and an outlet port;

a liner covering the inner surface of said casing;

a shaft rotatable in said casing;

a plurality of rotors mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith and arranged in series between the inlet and outlet ends; each rotor having radially extending blades, the outer extremities thereof terminating short of said liner;

a disc-shaped distributor adjacent said inlet end and having blades thereon fixed on said shaft;

a whirl chamber between said inlet port and said distributor;

a disc-shaped impeller adjacent said outlet opening said impeller being fixed to said shaft and having radially extending blades thereon;

said inlet port, whirl chamber, distributor, rotors, impeller and outlet port being arranged for causing air and material which is to be pulverized and which is fed into said inlet port to be given a prewhirling movement in said whirling chamber in the direction of rotation of said shaft and then to be supplied by said distributor to the outer periphery of said radially extending rotor blades where the material is pulverized and from whence said pulverized material is carried to said outlet port.

4. The device of claim 3 in which an annular opening about said shaft is provided between said whirl chamber and distributor whereby the air and material is fed to the inner portions of said distributor, and said distributor is constructed to force said air and material radially outwardly to the space between said extremities of said rotor and the liner of said caslng.

5. A pulverizer according to claim 3 characterized in that a plurality of axially spaced flat discs are attached to said shaft between said rotors, thereby fonning a plurality of partitioned areas in said casing.

6. A pulverizer according to claim 3 characterized in that an end cover is provided adjacent the material feeding inlet and said whirl chamber is formed in the center of said end cover wherein material supplied from said inlet is given a prewhirl movement.

7. A pulverizer according to claim l, wherein the said blades of said distributor extend radially and axially of the axis of rotation of said shaft.

8. A pulverizer according to claim 3, wherein said casing is divided into an upper casing and lower casing separable for permitting access to said rotors.

9. The pulverizer according to claim l5 in which the abutting surfaces of said upper and lower casing come together in a plane at an angle to the horizontal, and means on said lower casing for pivoting said upper casing about said lower casing.

l0. A pulverizer according to claim 9, wherein said angle is approximately 45.

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SHEET 3 UF 3 /l//l/Ill//llllllll/l/l l lill/1111111111111 WASTE AND REFUSE DISINTEGRATING MILL This invention relates to a waste and refuse disintegrating mill comprising a shaft, a rotor body mounted for rotation about said shaft, hammerlike tools pivotally mounted in the rotor body, and a grate penetrating with its webs between the paths of movement of said tools and adapted to cooperate therewith for disintegration of the refuse.

The destruction of waste and refuse by disintegration thereof in disintegrating mills can without difficulty be conducted so far that a mouldlike material useful as a soil-improving agent is obtained. Such a destruction of refuse is considered superior in many respects to incineration of refuse. However, certain materials in the refuse cannot be ground into a mouldlike state and still other materials, such as iron or other metals in various forms, cannot be disintegrated at all. It must be possible, however, continuously and automatically to remove such metal material from the disintegrator and it must be seen to it that this material does not disturb the disintegrating operation or destroy the disintegrator.

No satisfactory solution of this problem has as yet been put forth.

In accordance with the invention there is now suggested the combination that the webs of the grate have surfaces which cooperate with the tools for the disintegration of the refuse and extend tangentially to a circle concentric with the rotor shaft whereby when said surfaces are in position in the gratelke bridge such an angle is formed between the surfaces of the tools mutually cooperating with the surfaces of the grate webs at the disintegration that the apex of the angle is directed towards the rotor body, and that in the gratelke bridge at the ends of the grate webs situated outside the operating range of the tools there is provided a tilting door through which nondisintegratable material is discharged by the force that the tools making an angle with the bridge exert on the nondisintegratable material at their passage through said bridge. In its lowered normal position said tilting door will conduct material introduced through the entrance end of the disintegrator into the disintegrating region and only yield when a metal object by cooperation between the tools and the grate is thrown against the door which thereby allows the object to pass and then returns to initial position.

The invention will be more closely described in the following with reference to a preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I is a vertical section of a disintegrator according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section corresponding to that in FIG. 1 and which is more diagrammatic to facilitate the understanding of the function of the disintegrator;

FIG. 3 is a modification of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a section substantially on line IV-IV in FIG. 3.

The waste and refuse disintegrating mill is provided with a rotor body 2 adapted to rotate about a shaft l and bearing hammerlike tools 3. Though it does not appear from the drawing such a rotor body 2, as is customary in a hammer mill of this kind, is of a relatively large extension in the longitudinal direction of the shaft 1 and carries several rows of tools 3 extending in the longitudinal direction of the shaft l. Thus each row can comprise a relatively great number of tools. The tools 3 are pivotally mounted in the rotor body 2 by detachable shafts 4 which by removal and reinsertion permit exchange of tools when these have been worn out. lf desired, the tools 3 can also be provided at both ends with holes 5 for the shaft 4, whereby the tools 3 can be turned to permit using both ends thereof for disintegrating purposes. For the same reason, the rotor body 2 has several series of holes 6 for the shafts 4 at different radial distances from the shaft 1 so that the tools 3 by being successively moved into holes 6 at an ever increasing distance from the shaft 1 can be utilized to the highest extent possible.

The disintegrator further comprises a gratelke bridge 7 with webs 8 that project in between the paths of movement of the tools 3 about the shaft l, and a perforate jacket 9 through the gaps l0 of which refuse can be discharged which has been disintegrated to a mouldlike consistency. The rotor body 2 is mounted in a frame ll in which the jacket 9 is disposed, and is surrounded by a housing 12 having an entrance opening I3 and an exit opening 14 for refuse that has been only partly disintegrated in the disintegrator. Such material is but an insignificant part of the total amount of refuse supplied to the disintegrator. Tests have shown that the disintegrator effectively comminutes even articles of clothing into a mouldlike product which is discharged from the disintegrator through the gaps l0 in the jacket 9.

The invention suggests the combination that the grate webs 8 are provided with surfaces l5 which cooperate with the tools for disintegrating the refuse and extend tangentially to a circle concentric with the rotor shaft l. ln the embodiment illustrated this circle I6, FIG. l, almost coincides with some of the circles on which lie the holes 6 in the rotor body 2. When in position in the gratelke bridge the tools 3 and the grate webs 8 will make between their mutually cooperating surfaces 18 and 15, respectively, an angle 17 whose apex is directed towards the rotor body 2. At the rotation of the rotor body 2 in the direction indicated by the arrow 19 the tools 3 substantially take a radial position with respect to the rotor body 2 and therefore the angle 17 will be relatively constant but still vary to a certain extent due to the resistance that the material ground between the surfaces l5 and 18 exerts on the tools 3. The tools thus more or less swing away about the shafts 4 and yield until the refuse has been comminuted. The same applies, on the whole, when nondisintegratable material, such as metal objects, enters the disintegrator, as will appear from the following.

In accordance with the invention, a tilting door 20 is further provided at the gratelke bridge 7 at the ends of the webs 8 lying outside the operating range of the tools 3. Through this door 20 nondisintegratable material is discharged under the action of the force exerted by the tools 3 at their passage through the bridge. The tilting door 20 can be weight or spring loaded in a manner not shown in detail. lf for example an iron object enters the disintegrator together with other disintegratable material the iron object will be thrown against the door 20 which yields and, as soon as the iron object has passed therethrough, returns to its initial position in which it guides the disintegratable material towards the gratelke bridge. The disintegratable material is comminuted by the cooperation of the tools 3 with the bridge 7, but in a not insignificant degree also by the passage of the tools 3 over the perforate jacket 9. A pair of guide plates 21 and 22 lead but partly comminuted material through the exit opening 14.

The grate webs 8 are reversibly disposed beneath a bottom 23 of a discharge chute 24 for the nondisintegratable material, said bottom inclining downwardly and outwardly from the door 20. Rods 25 are passed through the grate webs 8 and fixedly mounted in the frame ll in a manner not shown. Between adjacent grate webs 8 distance members 26 are provided, which members are curved on the same arc as the perforate jacket 9.

ln the modification illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 the disintegrating surfaces 15 of the grate webs 8 are provided in a plane A indicated by dash and dot lines and spaced from and beneath a plane B also indicated by dash and dot lines and in which the grate webs 8 penetrate beneath the inclined bottom 23 of the discharge chute 24. Moreover, the tilting door 20 in the closed position illustrated extends past the plane A up to or in proximity of the plane B. This arrangement will give the grate webs 8 a free part 27 'at the rear edge, and by the tilting door 20 being swung aside metal waste in the form of sheet metal cans which have been bent about the upper surfaces l5 of the grate webs 8 can be discharged over said edge part 27.

As seen in the closed position of the tilting door 20 as illustrated in FIG. 3 the said door 20 in addition to the portion 28 extending at right angles to the surfaces l5 of the grate webs 8 also has a portion 29 which forms the free end of the door and which at least on the whole extends parallel with the inclined bottom 23 of the discharge chute 24. More particularly, the main plane of the portion 29 substantially coincides with that of the inclined bottom 23. The door is pivoted on a shaft 30 and has an arm 3l which is connected to one end of a coil spring 32 whose other end is anchored in a fastening 33 in the disintegrator.

ln FlG. 3 the grate webs 8 are inserted in a stationary box 34 in such a manner as to permit reversal. Said box 34 is disposed beneath the inclined bottom 23 of the discharge chute 24, and one wall of said box constitutes the inclined bottom 23, while the wall 35 of the box 34 facing the rotor body 2 is provided with openings through which the webs 8 are inserted in the box 34 in a reversible and exchangeable manner. The parts of the wall 35 situated between the openings are protected by wearing elements 36 which are locked in active position by a safety pin 39 inserted through lugs 37 of the wearing elements 36 and holes in the webs 8 and also through the box sidewalls 38 parallel with said webs 8. The upper portion of the respective wearing elements 36 is bent to form a hook 40 which grasps about the upper end of the respective part of the wall 35, thereby ensuring a still more steady position of the respective wearing element 36.

Modifications can be resorted to within the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.

Iclaim:

l. A wasteand refuse-disintegrating mill comprising a housing, said housing having an entrance opening at the top thereof, a discharge opening at the bottom through which comminuted material is discharged and a discharge opening on one side thereof through which nondisintegratable material may be discharged, a shaft mounted for rotation in said housing, a rotor mounted for rotation on said shaft, a plurality of hammerlike disintegrating tools pivotally mounted on said rotor for rotation therewith, a foraminous grinding cage concentric with the shaft and rotor for coaction with said disintegrating tools, and a plurality of stationary disintegrating teeth positioned adjacent to said entrance opening extending inwardly toward said rotor and interspersed between said disintegrating tools, the upper surface of said teeth being disposed tangentially to a circle concentric with said shaft to form an angle with said tools as they approach said teeth, the apex of which is disposed towards said rotor, said side discharge opening being located adjacent to said disintegrating teeth to receive nondisintegratable materials therethrough as said disintegrating tools push said nondisintegratable materials outwardly along the upper surface of said disintegrating teeth to prevent entry of said nondisintegratable material into said foraminous cage.

2. A device as set forth in claim l and including a tilting door at the outer edge of the upper surface of said disintegrating teeth.

3. A device as set forth in claim 2 wherein said door partially overhangs the outer edges of the upper surface of said teeth.

4. A device as set forth in claim 2 and including a chute attached to said housing and underlying said side discharge opening for carrying said nondisintegratable materials away.

5. A device as set forth in claim 4 and including a box disposed beneath said chute, a plurality of spaced openings in the wall of the box facing said rotor, said teeth having similar wearing surfaces on each end and being reversibly disposed in said openings in said box, and means locking said teeth in position with respect to said tools. 

1. A waste- and refuse-disintegrating mill comprising a housing, said housing having an entrance opening at the top thereof, a discharge opening at the bottom through which comminuted material is discharged and a discharge opening on one side thereof through which nondisintegratable material may be discharged, a shaft mounted for rotation in said housing, a rotor mounted for rotation on said shaft, a plurality of hammerlike disintegrating tools pivotally mounted on said rotor for rotation therewith, a foraminous grinding cage concentric with the shaft and rotor for coaction with said disintegrating tools, and a plurality of stationary disintegrating teeth positioned adjacent to said entrance opening extending inwardly toward sAid rotor and interspersed between said disintegrating tools, the upper surface of said teeth being disposed tangentially to a circle concentric with said shaft to form an angle with said tools as they approach said teeth, the apex of which is disposed towards said rotor, said side discharge opening being located adjacent to said disintegrating teeth to receive nondisintegratable materials therethrough as said disintegrating tools push said nondisintegratable materials outwardly along the upper surface of said disintegrating teeth to prevent entry of said nondisintegratable material into said foraminous cage.
 2. A device as set forth in claim 1 and including a tilting door at the outer edge of the upper surface of said disintegrating teeth.
 3. A device as set forth in claim 2 wherein said door partially overhangs the outer edges of the upper surface of said teeth.
 4. A device as set forth in claim 2 and including a chute attached to said housing and underlying said side discharge opening for carrying said nondisintegratable materials away.
 5. A device as set forth in claim 4 and including a box disposed beneath said chute, a plurality of spaced openings in the wall of the box facing said rotor, said teeth having similar wearing surfaces on each end and being reversibly disposed in said openings in said box, and means locking said teeth in position with respect to said tools. 